Building A Better Bandit
BUILDING A BETTER BANDIT
Jon F. Thompson
THE ITALIANS STEAL SUZUKI'S THUNDER
EXCUSE US, BUT WE'RE CONFUSED. When Suzuki introduced its Bandit 400 two years ago, it captured our hearts. We said that the lovable little screamer looked “like a cross between an MV Agusta and a Ducati," and explained its stylishness by saying, tongue-in-cheek, that "an Italian designer was let loose in the Suzuki factory." In 1991, it was voted one of Cycle World's Ten Best Bikes.
Given that rousing success, we expected that Suzuki would build, probably for the 1993 model year, a Bandit 600-or, even better, a Bandit 750. It would be the killer sportingstandard that would entice novice and experienced riders alike, something the company’s lackluster VX800 and GSX1100G standards have failed to do. Yet, when Suzuki unveiled its 1993 sales catalog, there was no such machine.
But the Bandit concept lives. It does so, ironically, in the minds and hearts of our paisana from Bologna, those world-class enthusiasts who build Ducatis.
Instead of calling their Bandit a Bandit, the Italians are calling their machine-well, we’re not sure. Its working name during development at the Duck factory was II Monstro, or, The Monster. So for now, that’s what we’ll call it.
What we have to show you is an illustration, instead of a photo of the real thing. But be assured, this bike exists, it looks just about like this, and it is coming here. As its calling card, it offers the two key features that caused us to suspect the original Suzuki Bandit 400 of being Italianate: red, red paint and an exposed, multi-tube frame.
The Monster’s essence is that of Ducati’s lightweight 900SS sportbike, but with a more upright seating position, and without a fairing. There is one rumored change, however, that should make The Monster especially exciting. That involves lengthening the engine’s stroke to boost displacement to 972cc. This long-stroke engine reputedly has about 10 more horsepower than the 904cc 900SS powerplant, and early dyno runs indicate that it’s got a lot more mid-range torque.
Suzuki says it isn’t building its own upsized Bandit because of a simple fact of economic life. “The market for a Bandit 600 or 750 isn’t big enough for us to divert our limited research-and-development money into creating another class of motorcycle. It’s more important to us that we develop the Katana and GSX-R lines instead of leaving them stagnant while we develop a new bike,” says company spokesman Joe Colombero.
It’s an apt illustration of the sometimes-unfortunate nature of big business. We’ll keep hoping that Suzuki will eventually find a way to build a Bandit 600 or 750-maybe even an 1100. But in the meantime, the Ducati Monster is coming, probably for 1993, aimed straight at the expanding standard-bike market. And it promises to be a gas.
